Winded
by A. Lincoln
Summary: Edward is tired of sifting through the minds of women who call for him, so what happens when he finds himself pulled toward the one mind he can’t hear? Rated M for mature situations.
1. Wind

**Winded**

Written by: A. Lincoln

Author's Notes and Warnings: I'd just like to thank everyone who voted for this story in the contest and I'd like to congratulate the winners. For info on the next chapters from here on in, see the end of each posted chapter. Enjoy.

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The woman mind was surprisingly easy to analyze. I failed to understand why human men had such problems. If they were more observant, there would be no more need for vile creatures like me.

Unfortunately, I was bound to this existence of sexual gratification, and the only way to lessen my hatred for this life was to try and accept it. Unfortunately, acceptance, to the human mind, was the hardest part of the healing process, and I could not help but agree. I had been trying to accept this fate for two and a half years, and I was still loathing it to this day.

As I sat in the main hall, I watched a cloud of mist form in front of the report table. My eyes drifted to my left, and I scanned Jasper's expression for any signs of confusion. As usual, he was trying hard to conceal his displeasure at his lack of knowledge to this new life, but I could see it clearly in his eyes. He caught me eyeing him and scowled. I chuckled.

"They're the morning incubi," I said, nodding my head in the direction of the shroud of mist, now materializing into a condensed vertical shape.

Jasper grunted and gritted his teeth. I was sure that the onslaught of sounds in his head – which was like a blistering headache to a mortal – was shattering his concentration. He opened his mouth to say something, and then it snapped shut as another wave of pain lapped at his mind. I understood his pain well; new incubi were not able to control the thoughts they could receive until they completed training, and even then it was quite difficult to turn down the volume until you were well accustomed to how women functioned.

His obvious pain caused me pain also, and I wished for a moment that we could pull back the hands of time to free him from the chains of fate. But despite our status in the mythical world, and our setting, we did not have such powers. Those were held for Gods and Goddesses who were more responsible than we were. Deities like Aro, who took advantage of their power but were free to reign for millennia over us.

I let out one humorless laugh and turned back to Jasper. The lines of his forehead had smoothed out, indicating that the worst had passed. I put one hand on his shoulder to call his attention.

"You can explain now," he said gruffly, glaring directly ahead of him at a portrait of Athena.

I glanced over to the mist and was slightly surprised to see that they were already in their human forms. They were getting better at masking.

"The morning incubi mask themselves as mist because it is the simplest form to take when wandering out in the morning hours," I said slowly, watching his reaction. His eyes lost focus of the portrait for a moment as he processed my words, and then he was rigid once more.

"Can't humans feel mist?"

A slight smile graced my lips. There was once a time when I was this inexperienced and where I was the one asking the same questions and demanding the same answers. "Yes, but in the morning they are quick to attribute it to morning dew."

He nodded once in earnest, and I took my hand from his shoulder. I noticed that he had much more questions he wanted to ask, and I motioned for him to continue with my hand.

"What incubus are you?" he asked.

I let my hand rest on his shoulder again and he eyed me curiously. I smiled and a quick hiss blew from his lips as I placed let my index finger rest parallel to his shoulder. The tip didn't touch his neck, but I saw the goose bumps form on his skin at the point of contact.

His body spun away from me instinctively, and a growl rumbled low in his throat. I smirked at his expression, confusion and anger mixed into one, and he let out a low warning. I ignored him as I placed my hand back to my side.

"I'm a night incubus."

"And what did you just attack me with?" he whispered harshly.

I couldn't take him seriously, but I understood his mood. Another part of being a new incubus was the uncontrollable emotion still embedded from being mortal. The majority of my fellow clan members were mortal before they were called from the brink of death. The new ones had to let their human mind slowly ebb away until it was nothing more than a machine used to collect thoughts and please women.

Jasper had so much to deal with.

"It was just a wisp of wind." I watched his expression and decided to explain. "That is the form we take at night. The reason it is so cold is because of the region I cover. It's always wet and cold there."

He narrowed his eyes at me as he mulled that over, and like before, when he understood, he let down his uptight façade.

"So why are there so many mist guys and only a few of you wind ones?" His lips curled up as though he caught something important.

How right he was.

I smiled sadly. Every time I explained this, it only confirmed the length of eternity. It did help ease the acceptance of this life, but it didn't make it any easier on an immediate emotional level. But he needed to understand that this job was his for eternity, and there was no escaping it.

"Most –," I searched for the right word, "- become midday incubi, or heat in terms of masking, because the loom weaves an equal amount of thoughts during that time. That means that you'll average at least one woman each day, and that's the quickest way to gain experience. As you eliminate more strands, you'll be promoted."

His chuckle at some joke I had missed caught me off guard. I raised my eyebrows as I watched him.

"Army," he muttered under his breath.

I ignored his hazy human memory and continued. "The second level is the afternoon-evening incubi, or clouds, who surprisingly have more requests than the morning. Lastly, we have the night incubi, the wind, who have the longest shift and the most requests."

A loud boom echoed in the chamber and the thoughts of new incubi arriving filled the room. Jasper returned to full glaring mood and stood up, and I followed him out to the separate chambers underground. We walked along a path lit with candles to the rooms, and I said nothing as he went into his room and shut the door loudly.

I continued down the path, and was watching the shadows flicker against the rock wall when I nearly slammed into a large figure. I stepped back and ducked when a fist suddenly came into my peripheral. I crouched and shot my leg out, twisting around quickly with a snap of my hand. I felt my foot connect with his, and he was on the ground laughing hysterically when I got up to dust my robes off.

"Damn, you're always ready," he breathed, accepting my hand and hoisting himself up.

"And you're always late," I said. He grinned and punched me in the shoulder, and then he was running towards the chamber.

Was he the only incubus unable to hear the loud booming of the clock as shifts changed? Emmett always seemed to be late to pick his first strand, but his lack of punctuality was in no correlation to his expertise. The only reason he was a midday incubus and not a night wanderer like the few of us was because he had a customer he was fond of.

And as forbidden as that was, he didn't care. Emmett was very easy to read only because he rarely ever kept anything to himself. His emotions were exposed for everyone to see, regardless of the potential repercussions he faced with many of them. That was probably why he was easy to get along with, although many of the incubi did not agree.

I made it to my room and stepped inside, taking a moment to revel at the quiet atmosphere. The purpose of these rooms was to provide a place free from the thoughts of others. The minds of us creatures were designed to detect the wavelengths of the human mind, and mine was special in a way that it could also detect the thoughts of other creatures as I pleased. I tuned those out naturally since it caused more havoc than necessary, but even a special 'gift' as Aro called it (he was oddly interested in me) was not able to tune out the thoughts I was designed to hear.

But this room was the equivalent to human sound-proofing walls, and for that I was grateful. The Gods understood the immense strain on our minds that each wavelength brought along with it, since wavelengths brought not only pleas, but the emotions laced within them. It was a burden to carry all the emotion, and our creators created the haven as a place to stay between shifts.

For me, however, this was more than just an escape. This was a room that allowed me to remember the fuzzy human memories I was able to retain. As I thought about it, the memories resurfaced, flooding my mind with images undefined and hazy. I let them float around in my mind, as it helped shape each clip, and then I watched the most important memories replay themselves.

"_I want to try something," he said softly while he laced his hand within hers. _

_He heard her breath catch as he brought their intertwined_ _hands up to his chest. He let their hands rest on his jacket, right where his heart was beating in time to hers, and used his free hand to pull her closer. He felt her body heat seep beneath his clothes and onto his skin, and the warming sensation was wonderful as he wrapped his hand around her waist._

_She let out a shaky breath and willed her chest to stop heaving noticeably as he began to dip his head to hers. They were in the park, a fact she noticed absently, and snow glistened on the ground so beautifully that she felt bad for marring it with her footprints. But that absent thought was gone the second it tainted the perfection of the moment, and she was thrust back to absolute bliss._

_His forehead was touching hers now; their breath danced between their lips as the wind whipped their jackets into separate frenzies. He stayed like that with her for a long moment, enjoying the way she shivered as his breath touched her lips, and watching in anticipation as her eyes lowered to stare at his lips. He smiled, knowing that she loved the way it was 'crooked', and her breath caught once more._

_He didn't give her a chance to recover as his lips met hers. Both their eyes closed in the heat of the moment, and he applied pressure. He was as new to this as she was, and they were both seventeen and inexperienced in even the art of kissing. But he loved her with his life, and knew it would be enough to compensate for his lack of skill._

_The snow swirled around them, matching their passion as their lips moved along to a song only they could hear, and –_

The scene suddenly changed, and I leaned my head back against the stone cold wall and closed my eyes.

_His fingers were quick over the keys, a testament to how skilled a player he was. Despite the speed, the tune that emerged was graceful in its slowness, a beautiful melody that matched his mood as he waited for her to arrive from work. _

_He had contemplated visiting her, but told himself that he was being too protective. She needed her space. But he quickly found that mulling at home was no better than aggravating her with his presence. Of course he knew that she never felt that way, but he was quick to jump to conclusions like those._

_He stopped playing when he heard the crunch of tires rolling over dirt. He watched the door and listened closely until he could hear her boots sloshing in the rain. She knocked lightly, realized the door was open, and let herself in. He smiled at her when her eyes immediately roamed to the piano where he sat. _

_She was drenched from the downpour, and her lips were pursed as she closed the umbrella and threw it on the porch. She shut the door with force, and he grinned widely as she stalked towards him._

"_Why didn't you come help me outside?" she grumbled. He heard the attempt at unbridled fury and chuckled softly at her martyred expression._

"_You would not have let me carry your things or hold your umbrella."_

"_Hmph," she mumbled, but it turned into an odd gasp as he pulled her into his lap. She turned her head slowly to glare at him, but was easily caught off guard as he kissed her. Her clothes were soaked, and the moisture should have been uncomfortable to him, but all he could think about was how soft her lips were against his._

_He groaned as she repositioned herself in his lap, and then their kiss deepened. She let her tongue slide over his bottom lip – like marble, she noted – and she felt the blush creep onto her cheeks as the action elicited another groan from him. _

_He pulled away reluctantly and smirked at the hazy stare she sent him. _

"_I wrote something for you," he said softly, as though his voice would ruin the atmosphere if he spoke too loud._

"_Mhm," she hummed, barely acknowledging his words as she tried to capture his lips. _

_He chuckled once and dodged her assault, grabbing her waist at the same time and turning her back towards the piano. He caught her mysterious smile as she turned to stare at the piano keys, and he immediately understood the reason for the facial expression._

_She twisted herself sinuously, nestling herself between his thighs, and he moaned painfully into the back of her sweater as he grabbed her hips to stop her. He could almost hear her smile of victory, but his body wanted to hear other sounds – preferably not his own._

_His breath was ragged and choppy as he let go of her hips to place his hands over hers. She stopped wiggling and was perfectly still as he guided their hands over the keys. Her lullaby was sweet, and blood rushed through his veins as he thought of Bella playing the piano with him. _

_Bella heard his harsh breaths and tensed her hand muscles. He stopped moving their hands and she tried to twist around to see what was wrong when he let out a strangled groan. She squeaked when he grabbed her hips with more force. She gasped and shivered as he ground himself into her, the friction creating delicious heat between them._

"_Stop tempting –_

The memory became hazy and dissipated in my mind before I was overcome with the worst memory of my human life.

"_Don't leave me, Edward! Stay alive. You promised. You…promised." Her words were impulsive, and, mixed with her anger and tears, barely understandable. But he could make out most of her speech, and every new word accompanied with a strangled sob tore at his already mangled heart._

_The ambulance sirens were loud against his ears, and he cursed them for making it harder to hear Bella. Although he could feel her hands against his chest, twisting furiously as she let her agitation known, he wanted to hear her as much as he could._

_His body felt odd; he knew this foreign feeling was a trademark of death forthcoming. It was as though a great weight had been lifted off his shoulders, but his body was not used to the freedom and was collapsing under its own lack of weight. It didn't quite make sense to him, but what did make sense, what did bring him back to the harshness of reality, hurt the most._

_A particularly painful sob tore from Bella's throat as she placed her forehead against the metal rails of the stretcher. The ambulance turned a sharp corner, and the paramedic barked a harsh order at the driver. Their voices were strangely muted, and the only voice that had any sign of clarity was the one he couldn't live without._

"_Why can't he speak?" Bella cried, pointing at his throat with wide, confused eyes. Her pupils drifted back and forth as she tried to take in everything at once. He wanted to sit up and tell her everything was all right, to free her from her pain, to kiss the tears away, to slap himself for being the cause of all this pain, but she was right – there was something wrong._

_He couldn't speak, nor could he move. The odd sensation had already consumed his whole body, but he could see her beautiful, torn face. Was that how death would come? He would be rendered useless except for his sight and hearing? He would have to die hearing and seeing Bella suffer so?_

_He deserved to rot in hell for eternity. _

I laughed humorlessly at my most vivid memory. How ironic it was that I wanted to rot in hell, and now that it had been granted, I wanted to live again. How selfish I was.

I had always found it a curse to relive the memories as an outsider – as if the story of my life was being retold in third person. Although I somehow had kept my human memories from being destroyed during training, I wasn't strong enough to keep the emotions that came along with them. I was left to conjure up emotions fitting each moment, but it never was satisfying. It was not real enough.

A low murmur or voices reached my ears, and my body became rigid as I listened closely. The incubi of the 49th Parallel were known as being very quiet and reserved. We rarely spoke since speaking disrupted the flow of wavelengths to the brain. The only ones who had mastered speaking while tuning in were the night wanderers like me, so it was never a surprise that I talked to novices like Jasper.

I caught the faint words of those who were trying to express their surprise. It would have been comical to listen to a normal conversation between afternoon incubi; they were at the stage before the night incubi, and were the longest to go without talking to preserve their validity within the Parallel. They usually sounded like three year old children trying to string a long sentence together.

But as I caught the important words, focusing on the verbs and adjectives, I realized that there was nothing remotely funny about this situation. I stood up and left the room, taking a deep breath as the wavelengths settled themselves calmly within my head. I let my mind open even further, willing it to let in the thoughts of the fellow incubi, and I was assaulted with shouts.

_This is amazing!_

_My goodness, who could possibly being doing that?_

_The strand is disappearing too quickly. I can't get a hold of it._

_It's like she's turning her thoughts off and on._

_If James won't move, I'm going to backhand him into the wall. God, he only likes tracking girls. He doesn't do shit with them._

The last vile thought caused me to scowl and I shut out the incubi's wavelengths as I stepped into the chamber. I walked briskly towards the loom with my eyes on James. From the thoughts, I deduced that James was closest to what they were staring at. I felt a searing heat to my right, definitely a collection of midday incubi gathering to watch this phenomenon, but I tried to ignore them as I continued forward.

I pushed the owner of the earlier thought out of my way and moved beside James. He did not even notice. He was staring pointedly at the loom with a grin on his face. He had found a challenge. I scowled.

I let my eyes roam over the collection of fibers. Each one was a tangible presentation of a wavelength, and once picked, shaped itself into an object that was attached to the person. It was the equivalent to human GPS, and the object, varying from a novel to something of a darker nature, brought the incubus to the place of the wavelength owner.

Right now the strings were still, each sending a separate wavelength, just a hum in my mind since it wasn't my shift. I eyed it for a while, my eyes sprinting back and forth for anything odd, and my eyes widened when I saw it.

It dwindled between invisible and faint every few seconds, and I tried with growing impatience to catch a lasting glimpse of the wavelength. I could only pick it up when I could see the string, and it would change so quickly that I would only feel a slight throbbing in my head – a headache, maybe?

A wavelength had never given me any pain before, and I figured I was the only one this deeply affected. Everyone gathered simply watched it with fascination, and James continued to try to pick it at. It was odd the way his hand reached forward and was met with some sort of barrier. Whatever stopped his hand from its advance took on a strange quality; it looked like protective elastic covering of the string. James, aggravated but getting a strange a high from the challenge, tried to approach from a different angle.

My head continued to throb in time to the string and I decided to reach for it. Caught up in my own thoughts, I barely registered James' territorial hiss as my hand passed his. With a slight twitch, my hand grabbed onto the string, and I pulled it from the woven strings with ease.

Then my mind was silent.

My eyes widened as I tried to make sense of what was going on. When an incubus picks up a string, the wavelength becomes attached to him and it is the only voice he can hear.

Yet I heard nothing.

The string began to transform into the object that would guide me to her, but I paid no attention as I tried to figure this out. Was there something wrong with me? Was there something wrong with this girl? Had the loom become defective and I was now picking up wavelengths of a dead person?

No. That wasn't possible.

The only way a wavelength could transform into a string woven into the loom was if there was a living being whose thoughts required our expertise. No one had ever fathomed a wavelength whose thoughts we couldn't hear because there had been no need to. Our thoughts were open to _everyone_.

I growled at the feeling of blindness.

I couldn't register what was happening. I couldn't understand. This wasn't possible. In my years of being an incubus, I had never been thwarted before I even begun.

For a brief moment, my eyes were hazy with challenge. I understood James' pull towards the chase and his eagerness to savor each moment. I was pulled towards this girl because she had presented me the first challenge in this existence.

I felt the anger on my face as I walked out of the chamber. I felt the eyes of each and every incubus here to witness this impossibility on my back.I felt everything, yet heard nothing.

I took shelter in my room, awaiting the dark with trepidation. My hands still grasped the object, but I did not look at it lest I pull myself deeper into incomprehension. Instead I stared forlornly at the wall, thinking about all the possibilities in this situation.

A dark part of my mind wished it was the one person who would never call upon us. But what if it was? What if it was her, asking for someone in the emptiness of the night, calling for a companion because she had lost one?

I shook my head at the conceit. Bella would have moved on. I was too blessed to be hers, but I was sure that would have continued to live for me. She would have gone through the mourning, and Alice or her other friend Angela would have helped her discover the rest of the world without me. It was my last wish to her as a human. She promised she would try.

I put my face in my hands and exhaled deeply. The object clattered to the desk and my eyes opened quickly to see the source of the noise. One look at the little box lying on the desk confirmed my deepest desire and my worst fear.

It was her.

And she called for me.

"No wonder she has a headache! Stop feeding her that _garbage_," Alice said, hissing the last word as she reached for Jacob's hand. He scowled at her and pulled away from her advance with the cup still shaking in his trembling hand.

I put my own over his and shot a warning glance his way. He smiled at me, completely ignoring a furious Alice as the trembling in his hand died down.

"You like it, right Bella?" he whispered, staring at me with so much intensity that it was hard to form a coherent response.

To tell the truth, I didn't really like Jacob's attempt at making a milkshake to calm my aching head, but it wasn't half bad. Despite the stinging sensation it left in my throat, it did actually taste like chocolate. I smiled at him.

"It's good," I said before Alice had the chance to answer for me.

His large grin made me smile wider as I laughed at Alice's expression. I immediately set off to soothing her anger.

"I will go with you today, Alice," I mumbled.

Her face lit up as though I had turned on a thousand little light facets in her skin. She smirked in victory and nodded her head once in acknowledgment. Suddenly she got up and her small form danced over to my side. She patted my head softly, but I still cringed as another wave of pain struck me.

"It will go away. Stop stressing yourself. Now go home and get your purse, then hurry over to my house. We have things to do." She sang the last sentence as she danced off to the parking lot. I grumbled my goodbye, but it was lost in her peals of delighted laughter.

Jacob sent me a look filled with pity as he took another swig of his homemade drink. We sat together in the new diner by the police station. It was operated by Emily, who had been investing in a new shop for years. We were her most frequent customers, although Jacob always insisted on bringing food from home than buying her products. It made me feel bad, and whenever Jacob had to use the washroom (frequently – he was so _huge_) I would sneak and order something.

Today he had caught me, and I was forced to drink his chocolate milkshake. I tried to persuade him that nothing could stop this blistering headache as it raged on, but he insisted. I found it hard to keep a good argument with the constant banging inside my skull, so I was pretty quick to concede.

We sat at a table by the largest window, and the patter of rain calmed me. The rain was no surprise; Forks was known for its overcast weather. I let the sounds wrap around me like a comforting blanket, and the attack of my head slowly ebbed.

I laid my head on the table as he slurped on his drink. I heard him set the cup down loudly and I jumped at the proximity of the sound to my ear.

"You're thinking of him, aren't you?" he asked, and I turned my head to peer up at his expression. He was trying to conceal his jealousy, but it leaked and I saw it in the way his forehead creased and his eyes tightened.

I was a horrible person for doing this to him.

"No," I whispered, although his words were the key that opened that part of my mind.

The floodgate opened and a torrent of memories rushed in, devouring my headache and leaking into every crevice. I was overcome with thoughts of Edward: his face, his eyes, his voice, his body. . . .

I cast my eyes towards the floor and blinked hard twice to push the tears out of my sight. I hoped Jacob didn't catch them as they fell to the floor, and that hope helped keep me from making any noises that would give me away.

I kept my face facing the floor as I waited for the rush of memories to stop. I felt a whimper in my throat, pushing itself to escape, but I concentrated. After a few tense moments, the memories evaporated and the floodgate closed.

It took with it my headache, but that was the least of my worries. The careful resistance I had built up had crumbled down with Jacob's impulsive words, and now what was left was a gate without a lock. It no longer needed a key or a catalyst to set it free.

I was vulnerable again.

Another tear rolled down my cheek as I looked up at Jacob. I watched his eyes widen at my face, and then he was mumbling apologies so quickly I barely caught that he was just repeating the same word.

I put my hand up to stop him and the words cut off cold. He peered at me anxiously and I tried to smile. It must have come off like a twisted frown, and I felt bad for this deception.

"You're a bad actress, Bella," he said, laughing. I sent him a confused look, and he patted my head the same way Alice had. Was I a dog now or something?

"What?" I grumbled.

"If you're unhappy, don't hide it. Don't treat me like your other friends," he whispered softly although his face was hard.

I really was a horrible person for doing this to him.

I nodded sagely and he helped me up from my seat. He chuckled when I almost tripped over his feet, and then we were in my car heading back to the reservation.

The ride was quiet as we turned onto the dirt road and for that I was thankful. The silence helped solidify a padlock on the floodgate, and by the time we were in front of Billy's house, I was pretty sure it was locked tightly.

Jacob hugged me tightly and patted me on the back before he left. I watched as Billy rolled out of the house to greet his son, and returned his wave before I set my car in reverse and pulled out of the driveway.

The rain had stopped, but dark clouds continued to race over the sky. It was fascinating that there were always a large collection of clouds that drifted over Forks at the same time each day, but that could have just been me searching for something interesting every afternoon.

I hummed to Debussy as I drove back home. I noted that Charlie wasn't home yet, and it made my escape much easier. I had decided to live with Charlie for a year after graduation, and he was left to deal with my constant mourning. I wished that we could live as two separate entities, him unaffected by me and vice-versa, but some higher power enjoyed Charlie's pain.

I knew he would be happy to know that I was going to Seattle for a party, but I would have to deal with his speech on moving on. I had only just ensured the security of the floodgate, and I was afraid his speech would break it easily. I wasn't ready for that twice in one day.

I went into the house and grabbed my purse before I could let my eyes drift to the rocking chair that he used to sit in. Tears pricked at my eyes as I rushed back out of the house and into the car.

It was a quick drive to the Cullen home where Alice waited on the porch. She grinned as I stepped out and rushed to greet me.

"Is Rosalie coming?" I wondered aloud as she pulled me up the stairs. I felt her hand twitch slightly, and then her steps were less graceful as we drifted up the spiral staircase and into her oversized room.

"Of course not. I asked her earlier, but she complained that it was too hot to do anything."

I wasn't expecting that answer. "What?"

"Lately she's been ditching me because of the weather. Forks rarely has a day where you could complain about heat," she mumbled.

"Maybe she has a personal heat wave," I joked lightly, hoping to brighten her mood. It was never a good thing to let Alice do your makeup when she was angry.

Alice turned to me and smiled, and I felt better as she motioned for me to sit on the seat in her washroom. She said nothing as she worked diligently, first taking a towel and rubbing the dry tears off my dirty face. She did not ask about them, and I was happy that she worked in silence.

She did my makeup in record time and when she moved out of the way to let me see myself in the mirror, I was surprised. This must have been the first time in two and a half years I looked _pretty_. I wanted to hug her tightly, but I knew it would get to her head, so I mumbled thanks as she put sections of my hair in pins.

She hummed softly as she curled my hair to frame my face. Once she was done with that, she went to fixing herself up while I rummaged through her closet. She had bought me a personal wardrobe for my nineteenth birthday, but told me that it would be kept in her house because she couldn't bear to find out what I would do with them alone.

I found a dress that would please her, but it did no good for me. It was strapless and went down just to above the knee, and was the same blue as my favorite blouse at home. I knew why I chose it above every other, but I tried not to think about the reason for longer than necessary.

I put on a pair of faded jeans and a zip up sweater and went to show Alice the dress. She nodded appreciatively as she packed up her makeup kit. She was already done her makeup, and looked stunning in comparison to me as we packed our clothes into a small suitcase. We were going to a weekend party in which Alice was invited, and she extended the invitation to me. She had booked a hotel and we were going to drop off our things and stay there until eight.

We were out of the house quickly after that, her dragging me to the strikingly yellow Porsche in the garage. I did not want to look so ostentatious, but it was hard to argue with Alice.

It was dusk by the time we reached Seattle. She drove right to the hotel, and the valet took her car as we rounded the corner to the hotel. I was quiet as Alice confirmed our reservation, but that didn't last long once we were in the elevator.

She pressed four and nudged me when she saw my expression.

"Don't tell me you want to bail," she whined, glaring up at me.

I looked at her pixie face and frowned. "Not really, but I don't want to go now."

"What's the difference between that and bailing?" she asked icily as we stepped out of the elevator.

"I do want to come, but later. Please, Alice." I had to resort to begging.

She glanced up at me curiously, trying to find some hint of a lie in my face, and sighed when she only saw the truth. "Fine, but I'm going to hunt you down if you're not there by eleven."

"Thank you." I smiled and she shook her head sadly as we walked down the hall. Our room was at the end, almost hidden by the walls, and it was comforting to know it would be harder to find than others.

Our stuff was strewn across the bed by the time seven thirty made its presence known. Alice looked positively beautiful in her midnight black cocktail dress and heels, and I hugged her fiercely as she grabbed her purse and made her way to the door.

"Keep your phone nearby. I'll call you. Remember that the only person who will knock this door is coming in twenty minutes." She kissed my cheek and then shut the door, and I could hear her retreating footsteps.

The valet was the person who would be coming to inform me that the Porsche was safe. Alice had paid him heavily to drive her to the club, return, and pick me up when I was ready. It obviously was her plan to ensure that I stick to my end of the bargain.

I decided to put on the dress to see how it fit. Of course it was perfect, I noted as I smoothed it out. I walked over to the full length mirror and admired the person staring back for a few seconds. She still had curves, despite her horrid eating habits after the incident and her skin still looked like pale silk under the right light.

I would have been pleased at these results, but all I could do was stare into the mirror and wish he was here to compliment me. I pursed my lips as I tried to push away the thought of him.

A curt knock on the door alerted me of the present and I rushed quickly to open it. It was the valet, and I smiled up at him as he searched for words to express what he wanted to say. I would have been flattered by the look in his eye and the way his Adam's apple bobbed as he looked me over, but I felt oddly disgusted at myself.

He mumbled what his name was and where I could find him when I was ready. I thanked him and smiled once again, and his lips twitched upwards in response. Suddenly a strong draft whirled into the room, and I rubbed my arms to stop the unexpected goose bumps from spreading.

He glanced at me strangely, as though he couldn't feel it, and asked if I needed any extra blankets. I glanced back the bed and nodded in the negative, and he smiled and wobbled away. The cool air surrounded me as I closed the door, and I rushed to find the sweater I was wearing earlier.

I bent down when I saw it, but the sweater did no good even when it hugged my skin. I was still cold, and I could feel the goose bumps spread to my shoulders. This was odd.

I went over to the window to close it, but found it was already sealed tightly shut. Confused, I walked over to the central air conditioning to see if it was left on. It was off.

What was going on?

I shivered as I made my way over to the bed. I turned on the desk lamp and rubbed my sleeved arms with my hands. I leaned against the head post for support, and continued to rub my arms almost painfully. The friction did nothing. Instead, it seemed I was getting colder.

I let my hands rest at my sides and closed my eyes. An odd sensation swept at my arms, continuing to my shoulders and then extending over my collarbone. It made the blood in my veins move faster, and I felt a faint blush on my cheeks as the feeling crept up my neck.

I didn't understand why I was blushing, and why it felt like I was being assaulted by wind, but the feeling was comfortable. It calmed me and excited me, and I welcomed it as I let myself relax against the pillows I propped up for my back.

My hair, which had been perfectly still despite the wind, tickled my neck softly. Without warning, the strands that covered my ears were pushed back, and my left ear was exposed to this odd sensation. I shivered, not out of the difference in temperature, as my earlobe reacted to this new sensation. My neck bent to the other side of its own accord, and I was surprised that I was welcoming this without thinking of exactly what was going on.

The sensation spread further, caressing my ear until it moved to the sensitive skin behind it. I couldn't stop the appreciative hum that came from me as I felt it touch me there. I cut the hum off mid-way, disgusted and scared, and my mind tried to figure out why I was getting turned on by air. This was certainly a first.

"Bella," someone whispered.

My head whipped around instinctively to where the sound emerged from. It was as though the voice came from right at my ear, as if their lips had been placed right there. My eyes scanned the room hurriedly, searching for a culprit, a tangible body to these strange delusions, but all I could see was the stillness of the hotel room.

I could hear my loud breathing as my heart sped underneath my chest. I propped myself up fully and leaned forward to see the door. It was locked. There were no out of place footprints on the carpet.

"Don't be afraid," the voice murmured then, and the cold draft surprised me by drifting over my thighs.

I shivered involuntarily and hugged my knees with my hands. I figured that if I was hearing a beautiful voice with no body attached to it, I would at least try to have a conversation. After all, no one told me it was bad to embrace hallucinations.

"What's going on?" I whispered into the still air.

When no one responded after a few tense seconds, I felt stupid. I was talking to an imaginary voice, trying to have a conversation in a hotel on a Friday night – in a party dress. This was downright comical.

"You called for me," the voice finally said.

My eyes widened as I replayed the voice in my head. It sounded familiar. But no, that couldn't be right. It couldn't be him. It wasn't possible.

"What are you thinking?" the voice asked, aggravated.

Yes, it was him.

How could I? How could I have hallucinations of him? I didn't want to open the floodgate, and now it was beyond open. It didn't flood my mind with images. It devoured it.

A strangled sob escaped my lips before I could stop it, and I curled myself up further into despair. This was insane. Was I so far gone that my only comfort was hallucinating that Edward was here with me, in a form I couldn't touch, couldn't see?

I shook my head and the tears began to flow freely. I had betrayed him. I promised that I would try to move on. I considered this day the first step to finding to healing. But I couldn't even accept that he was gone. Acceptance was the hardest part, and I knew all hope was lost the moment I realized I couldn't do it. The voice that was here now confirmed that.

I looked up in hope that I could see who I was talking to, but the room was empty. The air was still and my goose bumps had lessened to little dots on my skin. I whimpered pathetically as I wished that the voice would return, but I knew it was of no use. If Edward had moved on, why couldn't I?

I gasped as the draft returned, wiping away the tears on my cheeks. The moment of surprise quickly passed and I leaned into the invisible touch. I heard his soft chuckle and smiled sadly.

"I want to see you," I whispered.

"I can only take human form when you are ready."

I sighed as the sensation cupped my face and left intriguing circles on my skin. It almost felt like human skin, but all that was left was the hand itself to confirm the feeling.

"Ready for?" I asked, puzzled.

I heard the zipper on the side of my dress sliding down. I narrowed my eyes in the darkness, but let it continue until it had reached the end. The sensation spread over my stomach, and I gasped when it slid over the rim of my panties.

"Oh," I breathed.

"Innocent as always," the voice whispered huskily in my ear.

I shivered as I was pushed back until I was lying on the bed. It was strange to be alone with someone there. It felt otherworldly. Then again, Edward didn't seem too human himself. Neither did this hallucination.

"Close your eyes," the voice commanded, and I did as asked.

I felt the air around me gather at my feet, and I wiggled my toes in anticipation. I kept my eyes shut as the draft slowly ran over my skin to gather with the rest of the air in the room, and I bit my bottom lip as a weight assembled at the foot of the bed.

My body tensed as the weight came closer. I felt his hands slide through mine and pull them from where they were hiding underneath my body. His thumbs caressed my palms, and I would have been quite content if we stayed like this for the night.

Edward had other plans.

The sensation that had been licking at my skin was more potent when there was a body to its name. I realized that the moment Edward's lips touched the skin behind my ear. I bit down harder on my lip as he drew a line from the top of that sensitive area to the bottom with his lips. I heard him inhale, and when he exhaled, the warm air on my skin brought a warm rush to my stomach.

With his hands still entwined in mine, he let his teeth graze over my earlobe. It was as though he had fired an electric pulse through me, and my body bucked upwards towards his. I felt his smile on my skin as he let his lips roam over my cheek.

I wanted so badly for him to kiss me, but I was afraid that it would make things worse when he was gone. I had trouble living for nearly three years without his touch, and I wouldn't bear living longer with it renewed.

But the other feeling was too much to ignore and when he pressed his lips softly to mine, as if he was testing himself, my reaction was much stronger than he expected.

I pressed my lips hard against his and he took it as confirmation. His ministrations were practiced and much more controlled than mine, and I cowered to the heat created must faster than he did. I groaned as his lips teased mine, and his tongue slipped into my mouth with a fervor that caught me off guard.

I had never kissed Edward with such intensity before, but I didn't have half a brain to make sense of what exactly was going on. I knew that he was causing my stomach to gather every exploding feeling in my body, and suddenly I itched for him to make it go away.

He groaned as I let my tongue tentatively run over his bottom lip. The sound empowered me and I ventured further, this time meeting his. He was clearly more experienced than I was, but I was fast becoming better at this.

But what I was not expecting was what he did next.

A growl escaped his lips as his left hand let go of mine, and he pushed my dress down. He took my strapless bra with the blue material, and I whimpered into his mouth as the cold air assaulted my now exposed skin. His free hand rubbed enticing circles around my breast, and I used my hand to guide him to where the itch burned under my skin.

He stopped kissing me briefly and told me to open my eyes. I did, and gasped when I met his heated stare. His green eyes were filled with a longing I didn't understand, but I couldn't tear myself away from his face.

It had been two and a half years since I'd seen such perfection.

He smiled crookedly at me before his long fingers teased my nipple. I gasped and my body bucked upwards once again, this time meeting his. The contact between my dress and his skin was shocking, and we both shivered at the heat produced between us.

He started to roll his fingers, and my free hand grabbed a fistful of the sheet because I couldn't get a firm hold on him. He watched the way my face contorted as wave after wave of pleasure lapped at my stomach.

I tried to concentrate on him. It had been too long since I had seen him, and my memory hungrily took in each curve and imperfection his skin. Not that he had looked glorious as the light of the moon cast over him.

I moaned as he kissed down my jaw and over my neck, leaving little marks as he ventured to where the other itch was located. My chest heaved with each roll of his skilled fingers, and I could feel his smile on my skin as my other hand clutched his painfully. His mouth reached just above the pert nipple waiting to be satisfied, and he sent me a crooked smile before it disappeared under his mouth.

I hissed in pleasure and wrapped my legs around his waist, pulling him down against me. I ground myself against him, feeling his erection touch the most sensitive part of me and screamed at the pent up emotions that wanted to be released. My stomach quivered as though it was on fire, and the scrap of my dress around it did nothing to lessen the acute pain.

"Please," I ground out in warning.

He responded by running his tongue over my nipple the same time he pinched the other one, and I whimpered as I ground myself against him once more. He groaned against my breast, and it heaved again.

The hand that was teasing me moved lower, and I huffed as the sensation left. He let it trail down over my crumpled dress and his eyes – a forest green now – watched my reaction as he tore the thing right down the seam.

I smiled as I thought of what Alice would say, and I grabbed his bronze curls and tugged him roughly back up to me. He complied and pressed his lips roughly against mine. His fingers slid down my exposed stomach, and it contracted under his skilled fingers. I gasped into his mouth when he hooked a finger into my panties and ripped those.

He cupped me with one hand and my eyes widened as the sensation that had been coiling in my stomach dipped further. He let go of my lips as my head thrashed mindlessly against the pillow. His fingers rubbed over the skin, slick with my arousal, and then one finger slipped inside.

My moan was muffled by his mouth. He moved his lips against mine as his finger pushed deeper. Just when I thought the fire couldn't get any hotter, he inserted a second finger and curled the first.

A torrent of sensation rushed to where he dominated, and I felt like he had popped something within me. Every nerve in my body seemed to explode in one everlasting second, and I was thrown into a pleasure so intense that my scream could not be muffled by even him.

The fire roared to life at that one moment, and Edward caught another of my screams of exultation in his mouth as his fingers slipped out and he positioned himself at my entrance. I was still in this strange high as the emotions continued to flow out of me, and I saw his sad smile before my eyes shut.

I felt him push inside of me, and I expected pain, but there was none. My walls stretched to fit him with ease and immediately my nerves began to fry with the overload of sensation. I sobbed desperately as he groaned, and then he pushed himself fully inside.

I pushed myself up and wrapped my arms around his muscled back, breathing into his hard shoulder as he began to move within me. I tried to keep in time to his strokes, but he was overpowering me in his haste.

His groans became louder, more pronounced, as he delved deeper. The air around us was thick with passion, and my hands were slick against his back as our bodies rubbed against one another. He thrust harder as I pleaded with him to bring me to that high again. He grunted in acknowledgment and he was more languid against me, his thrusts become longer and more fluid with each new second.

The sensation in my stomach began to whirl crazily again, and I felt the need to redeem myself. I could not see Edward's face, and could not tell if he was enjoying this as much as I was. If this hallucination was the last I would see of him, I would give him the same pleasure he had given me.

My fingers slipped off his back and I put them against his chest. He grunted in confusion, and I smiled as I pushed him back. We were still connected as he fell onto the lower half of the bed. I was now on top of him, staring into his dark, confused eyes. The new position immediately brought forth another wave of mindless pleasure, and I knew I needed to take control before I lost my own.

This hallucination felt incredibly real, and I wanted to please Edward the way he had pleased me when he was alive. If this was the only moment I got with him, I would try to make it the best. I owed him that much.

I began to move on top of him, our hips connecting as I came down on each thrust. After a confused moment, he understood, and began to thrust upwards in time to my strokes. He moaned my name as I bent my head to kiss a pert nipple.

"Bella, no," he groaned, growling when my teeth bit down slowly. His breathing was heavy and his face was strained with pain, and I wondered why he would want me to stop.

"Why?" I said as I pushed myself down farther. His eyes widened and he grabbed my hips, moving them to a rhythm that made his head thrash wildly against the blanket.

"_I_'m suppose to pleasure _you_," he hissed. I sent him an odd look before pushing against him harder than before, and he moaned loudly as pleasure overtook him.

He pulled me forward and kissed me roughly as my climax met with his. My eyes pricked with tears as I kissed him with as much passion as I could muster. The waves of pleasure continued to escape my body, and then it ebbed away into the comforting sensation from earlier.

We both sagged against each other, our heavy breathing mingling into the darkness of night. He rubbed my back as I let the tears leak onto his shoulder, and he groaned when he slipped out of me.

"Bella," he said, reprimanding. I scowled into the darkness.

"You're going to ruin the moment, aren't you?"

"You should have listened to me," he whispered sadly. "I didn't deserve that."

"Why?" I said quickly, turning to glare daggers at him. But my anger faded into confusion as I peered into his sorrowful eyes.

"Because I don't deserve you," he whispered.

Goose bumps began to form on my skin as he faded away. Confused and angry, I grabbed his hand to try to stop him, but that too became wind as he drifted.

"Don't leave me, Edward. Don't do this. You promised," I cried into the night as the cool air wrapped me in an embrace.

"I love you." The voice was at my ear, but the body was gone.

"Then don't leave." I looked around desperately for any way to trap him here, but I knew he could escape through crevices as he pleased.

He ignored my words. "Bella, you're special. No one in my clan could hear your wavelength. Your mind is protected; you shield yourself. And I think you shielded me after my death." I cringed, but he continued. "I retained my human memories because Aro wasn't able to get to them. You must have wished for me to remember you. Silly Bella, as if I would ever forget you regardless." He chuckled into the darkness, but the sound held no humor - only sadness.

"I don't understand," I mumbled, wiping the tears out of my eyes so I could see clearly in case he changed his mind.

"I know," he replied, "but I've given you clues. Just be careful, and call for me in the night when you are lonely."

I stood up frantically, grabbing at the air and hoping he would stop. I moved towards the window, blocking it with my body, but he was already gone.

Tears rolled down my cheeks as I sauntered back to the bed, and I nearly sat on a little box that laid there. I picked up the foreign object and caressed the soft velvet exterior with my fingers, and then I flipped the box open.

Inside was the most beautiful ring I had ever seen.

With its beauty came a realization that Edward needed my help. Whatever he was, wherever he was, he wished to be free and he knew that he could entrust me with this.

I slipped his mother's ring onto my finger. And then I steeled myself to answer his unspoken question.

"Yes."

* * *

_Fini_

* * *

Posted: Friday, August 29, 2008.  
Revised: Thursday, October 29, 2008.  
Edited: Coming soon.

**About Next Chapter:**

I had quite a bit of requests for another chapter, and I've had it sitting on my computer for a while. I just wanted the contest to be over. And alas, it is! If you wish to continue with this story, check back on Saturday night or Sunday! Until then, here is a line from the next chapter:

"Ma'am, if you'd stop talking for a moment, I'd explain why I have the inexplicable urge to…," he trailed off with a broken sigh, his teeth clenched as he tried to conceal the immense pain on his face.


	2. Mist

**Winded**

Written by: A. Lincoln

Author's Notes and Warnings: Believe me when I say I did not ignore your wish for another chapter. I kept your wish in mind, but I also wanted to be a part of the contest. Thank you to everyone who voted and I applaud the winners and the entrants. Without further adieu, here is the next chapter of _Winded_.

* * *

Emmett fired off a round of questions when I returned. He found no awkwardness in talking to a wisp of wind as he followed me through the corridor.

As he trudged down the dimly lit hallway, his questions became more personal and disturbing. I was not enjoying the way he referred to my Bella, but I did not attempt to materialize into my human form lest my face give him more reason to question my activities.

We continued like that, him talking to seemingly nothing, until we reached my door. He stopped once he noticed that I had, and his mouth shut the moment I began to change.

He was quiet, probing, as I turned to look at him. His eyes scanned my face warily, probably looking for any answer to one of his questions, and then he visibly slumped when he saw that my face betrayed nothing. I let a tiny smile slip through, knowing that he would be unable to detect the sadness I felt.

He grunted and walked away, mumbling about the one sided conversation, and I quietly entered my room and closed the door. It was dark, a fact I noticed only because it made the screaming in my head much more apparent.

I sat on the bed and stared at the wall, feeling nothing. So occupied my mind was that sensory overload came quickly; I could no longer feel her smile, touch, or laugh as the memory of the night rippled through the dark waters of my mind.

Was it denial? I wanted to feel her touch on my skin - hear her voice as she told me she loved me - but my mind was too far-gone to comprehend such things. Was I simply not able to accept that she was still alight with a love for me - that someone else had not smothered it?

I did not know. I was not even sure if what happened was real. It could not have been. The odds were against us. Logic was against us, something not so easily defeated - if ever. Even the Gods were against us.

That was it. The Gods were the ones responsible. There are no accidents in life because the Gods will it so. Everything is under their control because they are the creators. They have the right to be judge and executioner, powers which give them influence beyond imagination. And here they were, willing me this, giving me this unfathomable dream to be with the one person I ever loved, and then tearing it away so violently that no pain came to deal its card.

I wondered about this morbid playfulness of the Gods. If they were known for anything, it was their love of pain and their pursuit of being unique. Prometheus had his fair share of pain, but physical pain knows bounds that love does not. Even in death, love hurts. I would know.

The wall was my only companion as the images continued to replay themselves in my head. I saw her as she opened the door for the valet, and the way she disregarded the valet's looks made my heart tighten with hope. I saw her as she looked around in confusion for the disembodied voice, and was enthralled in the way her hair fell down her back as she turned towards me. I saw her as she leaned back to let the cool air drift over her, and I felt raw emotion as I watched the blush tint her cheeks. I saw her as she cried out to me, her body quivering under my touch. I saw her as she tried to bring me contentment, the love in her eyes branding her touch into my soul. I saw her.

However, I would never see her again if the Gods found out.

My aggravation grew as I pondered. My thoughts were leading to something that required for analyzing and planning, and I knew then that I was prepared to sacrifice anything to see her once more.

The first thing that came to mind was the thoughts themselves. In my room, my mind was my own; it was not open to read by anyone. Once outside, however, my mind was laid bare for anyone higher in position to use at his or her disposal. Since I was a member of the night incubi, the only higher ranked were the Gods and the half-deities. Unfortunately, Aro was a part of that small circle.

Aro was one of the friendlier Gods on Olympus, but no one spoke of his uncharacteristic cheerfulness. Those who had been incubi for longer knew him much better than those who regarded him as nice did. He was a man of his time - many millennia ago – where rulers assassinated citizens with smiles on their faces. He was a person of humility, but one who yearned for power like humans loved money.

He was only important to me because he coveted my ability. Incubi were granted the ability to read the minds of those lower down in their groupings and the wavelength in their possessions. Only the Gods were able to read the minds of everyone. Then again, so was I.

Aro immediately drew me into suspicion. At first, he assumed me a trickster, a God with the ability to take on the aura of other creatures, but some inhumane torture cleared my name. I had assumed he had let me be after that, but he soon began to regard me as special.

'One of us,' he used to say, with a knowing smile on his face that sickened me.

Now, it was no different. It was obvious that Aro knew of my memories; he could see that I was the only incubus who was able to retain my most vivid human recollections. I was also sure he knew of my attachment to this girl. But what caused a spark of hope within me was Bella's power. If I was more alike to the Gods than many, and she was able to block her thoughts from me, then she was more powerful than any mere mortal was. If I wanted to protect her from the wrath of the Gods and the selfish eyes of Aro, I would have to start there.

The quiet of the room began to bother me as I thought of distinctions between my room and the hotel. I had never been so transfixed on a goal before. I was joyous at the possibility of the wavelength belonging to her. I was happy.

For the first time since my death, I was alive again.

I wanted to smile, but a twisted frown marred my face. Was I not as selfish as the Gods themselves were? I hoped for Bella's love, was overcome with passion once I found that it was intact, but I knew that we could never be. It was fleeting to think I could please her for the rest of her life; I was a creature bound to give women sexual pleasure, and Bella was a goddess who deserved someone human and normal.

I wanted so badly to tell her what I was and to explain this, but I was afraid of rejection. Never in my life had I been so terrified of the human capacity for emotion, so it was surprising to realize how greatly I feared her anger. I have been in the beds of many women, though not by choice and certainly not merrily, but there I have been. What would she make of that? What would she say?

I was torn. I wished she would move on, but I selfishly hoped she still had love for me. I could not stand losing her again.

I buried my face in my hands as I mulled it over. The quiet of the room was annoying, but a strange tapping overpowered the unease. It was a hesitant knock at the door, and I was grateful for the companion as I went to answer it. I opened it to find Jasper there with a look on his face that held more than one emotion.

He said nothing as I motioned for him to come in. The room smothered his thoughts the moment he walked through the door and that left me to wonder why he looked that way (since I could no longer read his thoughts).

He sat on a chair across from me and, with a quick wave of his hand, motioned for me to listen closely.

"Your wavelength is calling for you," he whispered, as though he knew someone was listening.

"There is nothing I can do. It's the middle of the morning," I replied. I damned the Gods for restraining me to a certain time. If I could not go to her, then there was one promise broken already.

He took a moment to reply. "I had my inauguration ceremony at dusk."

His quick subject change caught me off guard. I stared, frustrated, at him. I was in no mood for congratulations. I sighed and nodded my head in acknowledgement.

He glared at me. Confused, I let his sentence replay itself in my head. It was then that I realized how strange it sounded.

"You skipped the midday level," I said slowly, letting the words resonate around the room.

"Yes," Jasper responded, the added, "and Aro says hello."

"What?" My reply came out much harsher than intended, and Jasper was quick to become defensive.

"Don't shoot the messenger. He just told me to tell you that he says hello."

"Aro was at the ceremony?"

"Yes."

My mind immediately went into suspicion. Aro never attended inauguration ceremonies. No Gods except for Hera and Aphroditewere there. It was universally accepted that they had better things to do than watch us be promoted.

Aro had been at my ceremony only because he coveted me. For him to be at Jasper's. . .

"He knows," I breathed. The revelation was a punch to my stomach. Of course, I should not have expected anything less. Nothing can be kept from those who could hear everything.

"Knows about?" Jasper inquired.

I explained everything - last night, my wretched past, the girl I loved, my death. By the time I was finished, he knew everything about me and it was as though a great weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I was no longer just a vessel with immeasurable pain held inside; I was a being with the ability to share my emotions with others.

I felt the brunt of shame though, as I watched several emotions register on Jasper's face. He was clearly angry at the means of my death, but that was not what caught my attention. Beneath everything, I could see his gratefulness in his standing. I could see that, despite trying his best efforts to hide it, he was grateful for not having such a disastrous existence.

I should have been angry, but I could not help but agree. If I were in his position, would I not feel the same way? Would I not be pleased that I led a life knowing only the physical pain of others and myself (as Generals knew) as someone else dealt pain of every kind? Would I not be in high spirits?

My anger came from the answers to those questions, and it was directed at myself, not Jasper. As the seconds trudged on, I was linking more people into this inevitable tragedy, and it was obviously not my place to condemn them to the wraths of the Gods. My selfishness was causing my mangled fate to mix with others and everyone knew that knots were harder to untie when more strings were involved.

I closed my eyes and let the situation run through my head once more. If Bella was calling for me now and Jasper had just been inaugurated, there was only one visible solution to this growing problem.

I turned to Jasper and said the only thing I could.

"You have to find her for me."

Jasper's eyebrows creased and he only took a second to formulate his answer before he spoke.

"Why can't you?"

"It is morning and you are a morning incubus. I think it adds up," I whispered harshly, pinning a glare in his direction.

Guilt rushed through me again. I should not have been directing my anger at him. If this worked out, he would be helping more than anyone would.

"But how will _my_ being there help _your_ problem?" he replied, meeting my faulty glare with a condescending one of his own.

I let my hand run smoothly through my hair as I tried to stay calm. Bella was looking for me - there was no time to waste.

"Once you pick up her wavelength, no one else will be able to please her. I do not want someone like James pursuing her."

"And you're sure I'll be able to pick it up?"

I had not thought about that. I knew that those lesser incubi were unable to pick up her wavelength, but I never realized that Jasper's lack of ability would be a culminating factor. But what other option was there? If there were a slight chance - a minute possibility - I could be with Bella once more, I would go for it. How would I know if I never tried?

"Is confidence a sign of surety?" I asked offhandedly.

"I suppose it could be."

"Then I'm sure," I replied smoothly, standing up in one swift motion and making my way towards the door.

Jasper followed calmly, not replying to my statement as we moved like shadows down the dimly lit hallway. I slowed when we passed James' door, and I checked to ensure that he was safely inside his own room. The only person he could harm there was himself, and I was hoping that he would.

I knocked on the door and continued down the hallway. I could feel Jasper's confused look on my back though he understood once we heard the door open and a curse emerge from inside. He was definitely there.

The main hall was quiet as we neared the loom. There were some morning incubi lounging around the couches and a few were wiping up Peter (he was a little overweight; he had a hard time masking back into a human). I listened closely for the thoughts of a God nearby, and was relieved when the hum of the other mindless incubi was my response.

I instantly spotted Bella's wavelength when we reached the loom. It was in the corner, pulsing dimly among all the bright, blinding strings. My body warmed with the sight and I yearned to be the one to see her now. I reached out for her unthinkingly and a searing pain shot through my fingers. There was no visible barrier as I brought my hand back, but the pain was real.

I turned to Jasper, unsurprised at his frustration. This was something else that needed explaining.

"If it is not your designated time, you cannot take a wavelength."

He seemed more confused. "Then why did you try?"

Because I want to escape this hell and love the only person my heart can love. "I don't know."

He grunted, gave me a wary look, and then reached for the wavelength. I noticed how he did not pause at where I assumed he would (where I was shocked). His hand inched forward, the motion only slowed by my impatience, and then he stopped.

"What is it?" I demanded. He was so damn close.

He hissed in pain and my eyes shifted to his hand. His thumb jerked forward violently, and the skin began to change into soft clouds . He stared, transfixed, as his hand began to disappear, and I swiveled quickly on one foot to pin a glare on Aro.

He outstretched his hands and smiled jubilantly as he walked forward. I twisted my head to see if he was still causing Jasper harm and saw that Jasper was maneuvering his intact thumb experimentally. Once he was certain his thumb was fine, he shifted and watched as Aro came closer.

My eyes caught the faint shifting of bodies as newcomers watched the God. I could see the terror laced in their depthless eyes; I could taste the fear in the air; and I could certainly hear the screams in their head as they assumed the worst.

I craned my neck to stare at two particular middays lounging on the couch. They smiled happily at me, mouthing 'fool' as they stood up to leave. They both took one step before they erupted in flames.

Their screaming echoed around the large space and many covered their eyes and ran for their cabins. Jasper twitched as he watched the two burn, and I turned my attentions back to Aro.

"Leave them be," I whispered quietly.

"My, my, Edward. Is that how you expect to gain my trust?" Aro said, smiling as he waved a hand to stop the burning.

The two bodies crumbled to the floor as ashes, then immediately morphed into their original bodies. There was not a single trace of any altercation on their bodies, but their faces gave them away. Both men apologized furiously before rushing out.

I smirked. "You're just like your father in that aspect also."

He laughed and took three long strides before standing right before us. His hand came down on my shoulder and my mouth twitched as he stared down at me.

"The apple never falls from the tree, my boy," he said. Jasper rolled his eyes, not caring anymore that he did not understand.

I expected him to shield my mind from me, but he kept every facet open as he stared. He was grinning, as usual, but the look in his eye suggested something entirely different than the euphoria he was expressing. Jasper noticed too because he tensed, and I heard his mind formulating plans of actions.

Aro looked at us warily and let go of my shoulder. He took a step back and eyed us, and I glared at him as his probing eyes looked beyond my form. He stared at the loom, speculation deep in his withered depths, and I tensed as I sifted through his mind for his next course of action.

"I mean no harm," Aro said calmly, putting his hands up in surrender. Taken by surprise, I narrowed my eyes at him.

"How did you know?" I asked, clenching my fists as his hands came together.

"It is not difficult to tell when your mind is being invaded." He grinned and disappeared. My eyes widened for a fraction of a second before I sprung into action.

Jasper turned to ask what was going on when an unseen force hurled him back. His body collided with the pillar with such force that I was frozen to watch as he crumpled to the ground. He twisted his arm to catch his decent, grunting in obvious pain as the pillar began to fall.

I had only a moment to react, but I did not know where Aro had gone. The inner workings of my mind strained painfully as I wrapped my mind around the room, looking for any hint of his thoughts. It was hazy when I found it, but the sound of his amusement rang in my ears.

I stretched a hand out and watched as it morphed into a condensed form of wind. I brought it back slightly and whipped my arm forward, letting the chord wrap around the pillar. The pillar seemed to whine as it fell, and I grunted against its strength.

"Damnit." I pulled the whip upwards and the beam shot up in response. I breathed out to gain my bearings, but the beam jerked and the whip snapped under the pressure. The beam began its descent once more, and I saw Jasper's immobile body beneath. I cursed and twisted my arm painfully, and the whip expanded into a wall of wind.

I pinned my eyes open as the wall made impact with the beam. The sound was deafening as the beam exploded into a thousand tiny fragments. I condensed my wall once more and grabbed hold of Jasper's leg, pulling his body towards me.

A pinprick of thought stabbed at me, and I remembered that Aro was nearby. As a creature of the wind, I was sensitive to the changes of it in an area. My ears heard the distinct swoosh of wings as they soared closer, and I manipulated the wind to create a funnel in the path of whatever was coming at me.

A furry of black rushed in and a shrill scream erupted from the beak of the vulture. It cleanly wound itself around my funnel and soared over my shoulder. With a jolting realization of what it was going for, I turned.

My eyes caught the exact moment the wretched bird caught Bella's wavelength. It shimmered frantically, seemingly calling for help, as the vulture flapped its wings in excitement.

Anger coursed through my veins with such intensity that I could not control it.

I swore and shot myself upwards, my eyes a hazy red as I reached for the vile creature. My fingers touched a dangling leg before cold fingers grasped my shin. There was a chuckle, and I landed back on the ground with no injuries.

My eyes followed the vulture until it perched itself on Aro's arm. It opened its beak and dropped Bella onto his calm, awaiting fingers. I hissed.

"Calm, calm," he said, his voice soothing but still laced with his humor. "Is this the source of all this trouble?"

"What the hell do you want, Aro?" I asked, my hands trembling with fury. My muscles tensed as he let his eyes roam over the shimmering string. He looked at her the same way he gazed at me and that only caused me to fall deeper into uncontrolled rage.

"I can't read her thoughts," he mumbled to himself. He brought his hand up to observe the wavelength more closely, and I hissed and took a step forward.

"Ah, now, now," he said in warning, letting his gaze drop to my feet. He smiled again and returned his stare to the string.

"How fascinating. . .," he mused, letting his head tilt to the side. "How such a creature can escape the power of a God is indeed fascinating. She is yours, Edward?" He looked at me then, the grin on his face daring me to take a claim to what he wanted.

Hurt lapped at my heart as I gazed at the piece of her in his hands. She was not mine now. She was when I had a beating heart, but the beating of my heart now was not the same as it once been. This beating was the pain pulsing through, demanding that I realize that she never was mine and never would be.

I kept my face devoid of any emotion as I responded. If I told him she was mine, he would have that much more fun looking for it. And anyway, was it not lying?

"No, she is not."

He let all his teeth show as he grinned at me. The vulture on his shoulder whined and he patted it comfortingly. "Maya would like to know why you care so much about her wellbeing."

I tensed. "I never knew her wellbeing was in question."

He laughed and stroked the creature lovingly, and then it disappeared from his shoulder. "It was never in question, my dear boy. I am just curious."

"Are you?" I questioned harshly, pointing to Jasper's body and then to where my life was in his hand.

His eyes narrowed fractionally, his red orbs glaring at me as he pursed his lips. He was not accustomed to challenge from anyone, and I was glad he had the opportunity to think about his answer.

"Of course not, but I will not pursue this any further for today. If she is important to you, however, it should be in your best interest to protect her."

His subtle threat did not deter me. I smiled politely at him, my eyes swimming with the same hate. He responded with another blindingly bright smile as he flicked the string from his hand. It landed neatly in its original position, and my eyes cleared for a second to ensure that it was safe.

I turned and Aro was gone. I noticed that the pillar had returned to its original position, untouched. The only evidence was Jasper himself, lying on the ground. I walked over to him, kneeled down and tapped his forehead lightly. His eyes shot open and he glanced around wearily. He grunted as he sat up, cracking every spot in his back as he stretched out.

He said nothing as he stood, but I could tell he was angry. It was obvious this his General past made him weary of weakness, and this blatant display of it embarrassed him. He did not voice it though, instead making his way over to the loom. I followed him quietly. He did not reach for the string, but asked about the string pulsing brightly beside her.

"Why is that one much brighter than any of them here?" he said breathlessly, still working out the kinks in his back.

"Someone knows about us," I replied, surprise unaltered in my voice. He looked at me then, surprised that I was, and I shrugged.

"The brightness correlates with their desire for another's touch. The only way it could be pulsing that brightly was if someone was looking specifically for us."

It was then that I realized Bella had listened. She had been perceptive. She would not have been able to ask for someone's help unless she had an idea of why I was not responding. Hope lurched in my chest and I turned to Jasper.

"Pick that one up and go to her."

He saw something in my eyes that caused him not to ask any questions. He reached for it with ease and plucked it from the loom. It shimmered and changed into a black bracelet. I recognized it immediately.

He read the words on the bracelet and frowned.

He began to dissipate, and I laughed (although it sounded too hard and tense to come off as humorous) as I caught his words.

"I hope you don't have a sister complex."

* * *

I woke up to the sounds of objects clashing. A beam of light caught my eye as it opened, and I groaned and flipped myself over. The clashing stopped and I heard someone come to the edge on my bed. There was a faint crumpling sound, and then my sheet was gone.

The sudden cold assaulted my bare legs, and I sat up and hissed. I reached blindly for the blanket, but my hands met nothing but air. I groaned and let my eyes adjust to the brightness of the room.

"We're leaving," a calm voice reached my ears. I strained to keep my eyes open, but I dropped back to my pillow. My legs were freezing, but I was so tired to. . .

"Now!"

The ball of sheet hit my face painfully, and I murmured my distaste as I shot myself up. I swung my legs over the edge of the bed in confusion, and my ankle twisted painfully before I fell to the floor in a mess of body parts and sheets.

"Ow," I whined, rubbing my tender ankle. Alice paced around the room with a mission, tossing all of our belongings into our suitcases. I watched her curiously, my mind instantly wondering what I had done wrong to be the source of her rising anger.

Her hair was a tiny black storm of spikes as she emerged from the washroom with her towel. Her bright eyes caught me staring, and she narrowed them before turning around hotly and sauntering into the closet.

The room was eerily quiet as she made sure the closet was clean. She moved with determination, and in her haste, completely ignored my presence. It hurt to have her glance at me and say nothing, but I did not ask because I already knew the reasons for her anger.

I tried to use the side of the bed as as a brace to hoist myself up, but my ankle burned with its resistance. It stung with the pressure I was attempting to put on it, and I whimpered as I lowered myself back down. The rummaging around me stopped suddenly and I turned my head to see what Alice was doing.

Her eyes were wide as she stood by the washroom. A blush crept onto my cheeks as I realized she must have observed that pathetic attempt at getting myself upright. I tried to smile to lessen the embarrassing atmosphere, but Alice's mouth fell agape at my reaction.

She moved blindingly fast as I opened my mouth to ask what was wrong. One moment she was peering through the doorway, the next she was at my side, my hand cradled in her palms. I looked at her questionably, but the intensity of her stare made me divert my attention to the hand enclosed in hers.

I saw then the object of her scrutiny.

I completely forgot that I had left it on. I had fallen asleep with tears in my eyes, and I was so numb that I could not feel the material of the dress on my skin. I dreamt of nothing that night, but the memories were vivid; they were clear, as though my mind had not converted them to memories, but just put them in a place where time did not matter and they could replay in my head. It did not _seem_ like a memory.

Alice's head slowly turned to mine and I could see the question scorched deep in her eyes. I bit my lip as I thought of lies to spout, but the mere thought of last night blocked my mind from conjuring anything else.

"Bella?"

I shut my eyes for a long moment and opened them to meet hers. I knew this was an eventuality, but I was still lost for words. When Alice noticed that I would not say anything, she stated the obvious.

"This is Edward's ring."

"Yes," I replied.

The obvious became hazy – just like the ring on my finger and his lingering presence - as the tears began to fall.

-

_Supposed author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, the Greek poet Homer is believed to have created another poem entitled Didyeus. This epic story focuses on the lesser-known Goddess of happiness, Didyme and her supposed lover Marsyas (known as Marcus to many). The oldest surviving copy of the book, auctioned off in 1982 to the Museum of Greek Antiques, is said to tell the story of deception in the lives of the God of Happiness and a satyr._

_In this story, Didyme revels in the happiness of others, but is unable to acquire a happiness of her own. She seeks Aphrodite, the God of love, and asks for a companion. Aphrodite, who knows that Didyme is in need of a more physical love, finds Dionysus and requests a male satyr to be wed to Didyme. Dionysus sends Marcus to Didyme, and Didyme uses her influence in order for both to fall in love. _

_Once the two are wed, Didyme finds that this physical love is indeed something that brings true happiness. She finds that Marcus, although a satyr, never truly wished to simply please women. As she journeys to bring people closer to one another, she begins to notice that many women wish for a love that she is unable to give. She asks for the help of Marcus, and they create a creature called the Incubus._

_This creature brings happiness to many women, but the creature craves a higher being. It takes the form of an owl, using the wind to direct its path, until it finds an olive tree to perch. It eats from the olive tree and Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom, is summoned. The owl presents itself in its true form, and Athena is enraptured and brings him back to her home. After many visits, the Gods of mount Olympus begin to notice Athena's change. She no longer offers advice, instead opting to retire to her room as early as possible. This brings the attention of her brother, Ares, who spies on his sister. He discovers her escapades with the Incubus, and in his rage, assumes that it is nonconsensual since his sister is too knowledgeable to find pleasure in such a being. He searches for the Incubus before it arrives at Athena's room, and threatens the creature. The Incubus has no emotional ties to anything, and reveals that it is only a tool to bring happiness onto others. This clue leads Ares to Didyme, and he soon discovers that Marcus is a satyr. This pushes Ares into an unspeakable fury, and he lures Didyme away from Marcus and kills her. Marcus finds her body the next day and sets revenge on Mount Olympus. He does not know the identity of the murderer, and so he decides to create more creatures to displease the killer. He no longer holds any emotion, and the creatures he creates learn that they are meant to please women, just as he pleased his lover._

_Athena finds out what Ares has done, and demands that Zeus punish his son. Zeus, not caring for their trivial arguments, sends Ares down to Earth to keep track of every Incubus released. Ares is doomed to this eternity, and the Incubus, knowing that their leader was the murderer, mockingly name him Aro._

"_Ares, dear murderer of Marsyas, are you not then a defect arrow of Cupid's bow? Do you not speak? Can you not love? Tell me, my friend, are you not as horrid as the Incubus who loved your sister many a night? You may be our leader, but we do not fear a coward. God of bloodshed, how do you show your face when you control those who shed different fluids? This is not a question to be answered, my friend, for you already know that your face is nothing of importance. If you have murdered true happiness, expect none to grace your feet."_

_If you plan on using this Sparknote as a reference, please give the appropriate credits._

I exited the site before Alice returned. She came a moment later with a pile of books, all of which had demons somewhere along their spine. I rolled my eyes. She dropped them onto the table from a considerable height, and the sound earned a hush from the librarian.

When the librarian turned her head to collect something from a person, Alice stuck her tongue out at the old woman. I laughed lightly as she sat down beside me with the top book opened to the first page. Before she began reading, she asked me about my internet search.

"Well, you can put away those books now," I responded.

"Why?" she whispered, her eyebrows knit closely together in frustration.

"We're not looking for any information under demons. Why would you even consider Edward a demon?" I said haughtily, offended by her offhanded suggestion that we search under 'demons' first to find any clues.

"Who leaves a girl crying in her bed after he gives her a wedding ring?" Her tone was skeptical, and I realized that she was lying when she told me earlier that she completely believed my story. It was ridiculous to expect her to take everything in stride, but I was grateful that she was at least trying to help me solve my delusions. However, her bluntness was not helping me.

"Alice, he'll come back."

"And when will that be?" She looked at me expectantly.

"When I call for him," I said unsurely. I still had not figured out what to do.

"Are we going to have to set up a crop circle? Sacrifice a sheep? Please help me, Bella," she said harshly. I flinched at her tone.

I understood why she was being so hard on me. She believed that I was going through another phase again. Nearly three years, she had said matter-of-factly. She knew that I was still unable to continue on without him, and she figured this was my outlet. But the ring (a loophole she called it), was the only reason she was helping me. She knew that I could not have gone to Chicago to pick up the ring from his house, so she agreed to help ease my pain.

"Alice, he's an incubus," I whispered.

"_What_?A man-whore?!" Alice shouted, her eyes widening. My hand shot up to my mouth to tell her to keep it down, and blush tinted my cheeks as I looked around to see who had heard. Apparently, the whole library had.

"No, he's a spirit."

"Incubi are demons who have sex with women in their sleep, Bella," Alice whispered. Her eyes stayed in that deer-in-the-headlights position as she spoke. It was nearly laughable the way her face clashed with her words, but I was not even smiling as I let her words float around in my head.

"He's not a demon," I said, feeling the choking tears gathering in my eyes.

"No, he's not," she agreed, "but he has sex with other women."

I could not deny it. From what he had told me last night and the article I had just read, I could conclude that he did please other women. I could also say that I was extremely jealous and slightly disgusted, but Alice did not need to know about that.

"But he still loves me," I said lamely, placing my chin on my fingers as I leaned closer to Alice.

She smiled. "I could have told you that in a heartbeat," she said.

The sincerity in her voice uprooted a smile from me, and I proceeded to explain what I had read. She listened intently to every word, and once I was finished, she grinned impossibly wide.

"What?" I asked, confused.

"So we have to summon an incubus," she mused.

"Will you help me?"

Alice simply smiled and took the books back to where they belonged.

-

We were in her room when we began. We had found nothing on the actual summoning of an incubus, but when I told her how Edward had arrived the first time, she thought of an idea.

Just think of him, she had said - and that is what I was doing. That is what I had been doing for the past hour. Clearly, it was not working.

"Well, I'm not sacrificing a sheep if that's what your murderous glare means," Alice said.

I stifled a laugh. "But you're not helping," I whined, feeling awkward by the way she stared at me from her chair in the corner.

She was obviously enjoying my embarrassment. I was hoping to put her in her place when Edward came through the open window and materialized on my lap, but that was not happening and I was becoming more and more displeased.

It was nearly ten thirty when I decided to stop. I felt the hot tears prick at my eyes when my body realized he was not coming to see me. Alice creased her eyebrows, and then sighed as she walked over to the window.

She looked out the window for a moment and then shut it. Her voice was far as she spoke without turning around, but I could see the sadness on her face through the reflection of the glass.

"This is hopeless. We rushed back home to catch the library at opening. We've been up since six in the morning, and one of us is dead tired from waiting for someone else at a party. We've stayed in my room for the last hour, calling for someone to give you pleasure. If he had come, what would I have done? Watched? I'm his sister, and the last thing I want to witness is him doing the dirty with my best friend. I need to pee and take a long nap, so I'll do one thing for you."

She turned around and clapped her hands, her bracelets dangling together as she closed her eyes. I watched this for a long moment, and when she opened them, she glanced at me warily.

"There. I called for an incubus. No one is coming. Now, if you'll excuse me," she ran right past me into the washroom, shutting the door with a large bang. I sat, confused and agitated, on her bed, waiting for her to come out.

"Have you seen my name bracelet?"Alice called a second later.

"You just had –"

There was a clattering noise, a scream, and then a plea before the door opened and Alice came tumbling out. She ran over to me, her pants riding low on her hips, and stood in front of me protectively.

"Who are you and what are you doing in my house?" she demanded, lowering herself slightly and taking a case from the drawer. She clutched the case to her chest, her thumb on the button, and took a long step forward.

I slid over to the end of the bed and glanced at the open door. The toilet paper was strewn across the room and the soap dispenser lay open on the carpet. I rushed to my feet and grabbed the back of Alice's shirt before she could walk any further.

"Someone's in there?" I asked, my heartbeat increasing with each passing second.

"Yes," a voice called from the washroom, and I instantly lurched back with Alice in my grip. We both fell onto the bed, Alice cursing as she tried to go back to the washroom.

"Don't kill him, Alice," I said excitedly. She heard my words and turned her head, sending me the oddest look before nudging her way out of my weak grip.

"You think he's the incubus, don't you?"

"He is!" I pointed to the washroom door as he emerged, and Alice turned. I could not see her expression, but the way her hand opened to let the case fall to the floor told me that she was a little more than surprised to see a man clad in a skimpy white robe leaning against her doorframe.

His robe had a spot of pink on it from the soap, and I watched as he touched it with a finger. He brought the sample to his nose and smelled it lightly, and then it was gone with a casual flick of his long fingers.

"You must be Alice," the man said, staring at her beside me. My heart was beating frantically at this new development, and my eyes roamed over his figure to look for any sign that he was connected to Edward. I caught the bracelet on his wrist, and my eyes widened as I realized to whom it belonged.

Alice was just as aware as I was, but her way of showing it was much different than mine. I could nearly see the smile playing on her lips as she got up and crossed the room faster than I had ever seen her move.

She stood in front of him, and the drastic difference in height was comical. She was small and thin while he was tall and lean. He had muscles – that much was sure - and his masculinity was the polar opposite of Alice's daunting femininity.

The man hardly spared a glance at me as he towered over Alice. I watched in surprise as his hand came up to lightly touch Alice's shoulder. There was no visible response from her, so I paid more attention to the reactions of the man in the room.

He seemed to be just as surprised as I was, as if it was the first time he was seeing a human. That comparison seemed more realistic than anything else, and I was enraptured by his presence as he caressed Alice's arm. He did nothing more than that, seemingly just enjoying whatever facial response she was showing him.

Alice suddenly took a step back, and turned to look at me. Her face was devoid of emotion, but I could see the raging curiosity in her eyes and a hint of something else - anger?

She turned back to him. "Who are you?" she breathed.

"Jasper," he replied, his voice wrapping around both us of like a blanket. I felt strangely calm in his presence, although I still understood the situation.

"Who summoned you?"

"Alice Cullen." His words were smooth, touched only by a withering southern accent.

Alice stared at his wealth of pale, perfect skin, spending most of the time staring at the beautiful blond curls on his head. They framed his face delicately, making the lines of his jaw more pronounced. I watched as Alice's gaze feasted on his lips, and the way her gaze was suddenly on me after she met his.

"Bella, I called for Edward," she explained.

"We know," Jasper cut in, and Alice turned to glare daggers at him. It surprised me how quickly she became familiar with anyone.

"So why are you here?" I asked, blushing as he turned to look at me.

"To tell you that you can only summon Edward at night." His voice was strained, and I wondered if he was hurting from Alice's bathroom attack.

Alice seemed oblivious to his discomfort as she spoke. "We know now, so you can kindly leave."

He leaned back against the frame for support as the hand with her bracelet went through his hair. "Ma'am, I can't just –"

"Yes, you can. You told us what we needed to know and now you can leave and go do another poor, defenseless woman. This is sickening. You may be beautiful, but you are scum for giving women something so temporary. I bet you somehow make money off this. Why are you stepping closer? Get away from me. I am with Bella. St –"

"Ma'am, if you'd stop talking for a moment, I'd explain why I have the inexplicable urge to…," he trailed off with a broken sigh, his teeth clenched as he tried to conceal the immense pain on his face.

I understood what he meant. In the library, I knew of one condition that Incubi had to fulfill in order to complete their task. I had not thought that Alice would need to know. Guilt rushed through me, and I regretted asking for her help.

"Alice, I'm sorry," I whispered. She turned to look at me.

"For what?" she asked warily.

"For this." Jasper's lips were suddenly at her ear, and he paused, his beautiful eyes frustrated, before he crushed his lips to hers.

* * *

Posted: Sunday, November 2, 2008.  
Revised: Coming soon.  
Edited: Coming soon.

**About Next Chapter:**

I have written it three times, and they are all completely different. That is not good. I suppose we will have to see. I have found a sentence that will definitely be in there though. Here is a line from the next chapter:

"She hasn't come out of her house for days. We're going there today whether she expects it or not."


End file.
